When observing the world, many see that true leadership does not reflect positions of power; rather, it reflects a quality of personal character. Robert Greenleaf looked at 1970s America and the 1970s world and observed a lack of leadership. We had educated talent out the wazoo, but lacked people able to usher in lasting, good change. He wrote this book to cultivate such leadership qualities in its readers. Leadership, to him, was of a servant’s quality; it was not driven by acquiring power but instead by being a true “trustee.”
Some of the material is not relevant today because it was so rooted in history. Particularly, his assessment of the universities reflected the historical student uprisings of the 1960s. Thankfully, many of the problems have been addressed. Likewise, churches now face a new cadre of problems, not moored to the problems of the 1970s. I suspect the same is true for foundations, another topic of his interest.
However, there is a lasting quality to his philosophy. We are in need of people to serve lasting organizations instead of just hopping on the next new thing. Those people do not necessarily need fancy titles to enact “legitimate power and greatness.” The names writing the forward and afterward agree: famous business authors Stephen Covey and Peter Senge. Society needs to continue to read this book because we need better servant leaders.
This book is well-suited for undergraduate and graduate school students seeking to make more of an impact on their world. Young professionals might also give it a good read. Even older people involved in mentoring young adults can benefit from the words in its philosophy. This book is one of those lasting works that deserves to be read for a long time. To be effective, we all need to learn to be better servant leaders.
Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power & Greatness
By Robert Greenleaf
Narrated by Jamie Renell
25th Anniversary Edition
Text copyright (c) 2002
Paulist Press
Audio copyright (c) 2023
Audible Studios
ASIN B0BXB5G7PS
Length: 13:59
Genre: Leadership
www.amazon.com